A federal court in New York last week threw out a new Trump administration rule protecting health care professionals who decline to participate in medical procedures that violate their religious conscience, in particular, abortion. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, in a 147-page opinion, said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not have the authority to issue the new rule, that was set to take effect on Nov. 22.

The Kentucky Supreme Court vindicated a Christian printer who didn’t want to print pro-LGBT messages, but the victory may prove hollow. The court dismissed an LGBT organization’s discrimination claims last Thursday but left significant free speech questions unanswered.

A federal appeals court on Oct. 18 gave pro-life sidewalk counselors outside a Pittsburgh abortion facility the green light to enter the so-called “bubble zone.” Pro-life volunteers who want to speak with women entering the abortion facility can now stand closer to the door and don’t have to raise their voices to be heard, said Nikki Bruni, Pittsburgh director of 40 Days for Life. She and other volunteers tell women about nearby clinics that provide free ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, sexually transmitted disease testing, and other help.

A federal judge last week struck down an Obama-era regulation that required medical professionals to perform abortions and gender-transition procedures despite their religious convictions. The decision comes as a relief to Christian physicians like Mike Chupp, a general surgeon in Bristol, Tenn. Chupp, who is also CEO of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA) said that if the 2017 rule stood, it might have required him to perform surgeries against his Christian convictions such as a mastectomy on a teenage girl who identified as a boy.

A Bible class taught for decades in Mercer County, W.Va., public schools has little hope of revival after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

A popular Virginia teacher sued the school for firing him after he refused to use male pronouns to address a female student who identified as transgender.

Faith-based foster and adoption agencies received a boost late last week when a federal court in Michigan said they could continue to place children exclusively in families that have Biblical beliefs about marriage. U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker ruled a state regulation requiring faith-based agencies to place children with unmarried or same-sex couples targeted the agencies’ religious beliefs. He temporarily blocked the rule while arguments in the case proceed to trial.